


Caught Between the Real Thing And Nothing at All

by lorvee



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Behavior, Friends With Benefits, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Violence, Johnny's POV, Kinda, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, No beta just me reading this thing over and over, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Team Put Kreese in Jail Already, Team let Robby Keene be Happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-20 09:20:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30002694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorvee/pseuds/lorvee
Summary: “We don’t… we don’t have to tell anyone. I know I don’t have a lot to lose but you do, so yeah. If you want to do it again, fine, I am game. If you want to stop, you tell me. It doesn’t have to be this life changing thing.” And oh, isn’t that the biggest fucking lie. Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence fuck for fun and laughs and that doesn’t change things? “We keep this no strings attached, so you don’t have to worry your ass off about this.”
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Robby Keene & Daniel LaRusso, Robby Keene & Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 37
Kudos: 72





	1. Preface: The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fanfiction in years. I actually had never actually finished a story, but I just couldn't get this out of my system. I wrote this in less than two weeks like a maniac. It's just so fun to write about middle-aged men getting together.
> 
> Important things: I know nothing of police procedures or the American justice system in general, so be warned. 
> 
> Heres the playlist I'm constantly updating when I revisit or rewrite some chapters: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Sf42YtHv4p4m6XmFFsrui?si=qRqvEUoXSy-VkmngvXjDGQ

If someone asked, and if Johnny was inclined to answer, he would say that it was bound to happen. One can only spend so many years obsessed with another person without something like this happening. And it is totally normal to fuck your childhood enemy inside your new co-managed dojo. It happens all the fucking time!

It wasn’t like Johnny was actively trying to do it, though. _It just happened._ Really. It was probably the testosterone and the constant sparring and physical contact. 

Johnny wasn’t a home wrecker. He wasn’t that shitty of a person to actually pursue something with a married man, especially Daniel LaRusso of all fucking people. At least not on purpose. He also had standards, and didn’t want to be second best or the other man or whatever.

It was supposed to be a one time thing. At least that’s what he had thought after the first time he found himself with his back to the wooden floor of the little dojo-house and his eyes landed on the picture of Miyagi hanging on the wall. Johnny’s sweaty body had gone rigid, and not even the warm body beside him could alleviate the ice that suddenly ran through his veins.

But Johnny was bad at keeping promises —Robby could confirm it. Miguel too, if he was caught in a mood. And so, he was once again staring at the black and white picture, which seemed to be judging him harder with every passing second. 

And if he was a better man, a more principle-driven person, perhaps he would have stopped it. But apparently he wasn’t, for he ended up laying on the stupid thin mattress in the room of the little house, with another body on top of his, completely spent and sated. Again. 

“So… we should talk about this, right?” Daniel had said a few minutes after they had finished. They had never actually addressed it, actually. That was at least the fourth time (making out isn’t that big of an offence in Johnny’s books, so that doesn’t count). Johnny had thought it was like a silent agreement to not really mention it. Like, ever.

The room smelled of sweat and cum, and Johnny’s mind was a little drunk on the happy hormones sex provided (very good sex, his brain supplied. Treacherous son of a bitch) to really think straight. Of course he didn’t catch the vulnerable tone in LaRusso’s voice.

“Do we?” 

Johnny is still a child of the eighties, everyone forgot from time to time. He doesn’t talk about his feelings, he doesn’t do well with emotional or serious talk. He is difficult like that, no matter how the decades have passed.

“I think it would be important, yes.” Johnny groans, orgasm forgotten, the nice weightlessness of his bones gone and replaced with a tight feeling in his chest. His heart tickled, he thought before opening his eyes to the ceiling. “What we are doing… we—I mean…”

“If you don’t even know what to say why do you insist we talk?” He hoped that would deter Daniel from speaking. Being a dick could perhaps persuade him into silence for once. Except that never helped.

“Don’t be an asshole!” Good, he had riled him up. “God, why do you make it so difficult to put up with you?”

“You didn’t think I was difficult when we were rubbing our dicks together.” It had felt like the easiest, most natural thing in the world. It was very scary, how they had fallen into it like they were made to do it from the start. Johnny digresses. 

“That’s exactly why I want us to talk! Jesus Christ, John. What are we doing? We… we just found a way to work together, we are actually good at co-teaching and we’re finally getting along and this—” he moved his hands between their bodies, suddenly speechless.

“Yeah?” Johnny asked to fill the silence and because he was full of shit and God, couldn't they just think about that tomorrow. 

“Johnny…”

“You’re the one with stuff to say!” His frustration catches up his brain and it was so horrible how they went from complete bliss to messy talk in the span of minutes.

“Why the fuck do I bother…”

There was another beat of silence, a moment in which Johnny had a split second to think of what to say. Somehow, it felt like whatever came out of his mouth could very well change the nature of everything they had worked for in the last weeks, and that would be bullshit. His mind reeled and finally settled on something. Something dangerous and hidden and kind of selfish but that also could work.

Daniel LaRusso had a perfect life. He was loaded, with a very profitable business, a beautiful house, a gorgeous wife and two pretty kids. Maybe Anthony was a little demon, and Sam had a magnet for teenage drama, but all in all they were good children. Whatever he started with Johnny he did because in spite of it all, he was still an adrenaline junkie who liked how good it felt to keep riling up his former highschool. In many ways.

In fact, Johnny thinks, there comes a time in every man’s life, maybe in every person’s, when things, even if perfect, seem to not be enough. That’s why he had revived Cobra Kai from the ashes not just long ago. Maybe both of them are in a rut, and that was very exciting for Daniel, too. And nothing like a good, gay fling with your co-sensei to spice life up (they don’t really need it, the ‘spice’, not with Kreese around, with his kid trapped in some kind of Stocholm Syndrome thing). Still, that was the way to justify all of it. 

“Listen, LaRusso. Let’s not make a big deal of this. It was good, we have done it more than once, and I know we both like it.” Daniel looks like he is about to fight him on this, so he presses on, his sudden bravado making his mouth run. “We don’t… we don’t have to tell anyone. I know I don’t have a lot to lose but you do, so yeah. If you want to do it again, fine, I am game. If you want to stop, you tell me. It doesn’t have to be this life changing thing.” And oh, isn’t that the biggest fucking lie. Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence fuck for fun and laughs and that doesn’t change things? “We keep this no strings attached, so you don’t have to, uh, worry about, well, you know.” 

Daniel looks at him with calculating, brown eyes. His brow is furrowed and his lips thin. 

“So we are like friends with benefits?? We teach karate together, then… have sex sometimes?” Actually, that did sound good. The caveman part of Johnny’s brain agreed that was actually a pretty sweet deal.

“If you wanna name it. We can also make-out if you feel like it.” And that was solely for Johnny, because he actually liked kissing LaRusso, but he wasn’t gonna tell him that. Daniel seemed to think it over for some minutes, not really taking Johnny’s try at humor seriously. Brown eyes met ocean blue and they stayed there for a while.

“Is that what you want?” Somehow that was the most difficult thing yet. That question, Johnny didn’t expect. His mind couldn’t even wrap around everything that was happening and his stomach was tied in tight knots and nothing made sense and honestly he didn’t know if he wanted it or needed it, really.

“I suggested it,” he ended up saying, and it seemed to placate neither of them.

“No strings attached,” he repeated Johnny’s words in a strange tone. Not exactly distaste, but it sounded foreign in his voice. “If it works for you- yeah, yeah, that’s good.” They locked eyes for a moment, and Johnny felt his skin crawl at the intensity. He almost shivered.

“That’s settled.” 

They don’t speak anymore as they put on their clothes and leave the dojo to go their separate ways. Daniel would probably go to his big house in Encino soon, while Johnny drove to his little apartment in Reseda.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments! 
> 
> The title of this story comes from The Band CAMINO's "Honest", which honestly helped me finish this monster. Go listen to it, or in the playlist for the fic https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Sf42YtHv4p4m6XmFFsrui?si=hBFIVjWARxCIROvTSdzeIQ
> 
> The tags for this have been tweaked accordingly, and I hope it's the last time but I keep forgetting things, sorry!

Johnny can see Daniel is tired. He won’t say so, but it shows in the hard line of his mouth, in his strong knuckles pressed tightly on the side of his legs as he assesses today’s class with an unusual quiet demeanor. 

Maybe it’s Amanda. Maybe it’s the dealership. Maybe it’s this, teaching Karate with him in his once sacred, private dojo. Johnny’s not gonna ask. Or perhaps he will, who the fuck knows what the hell happens in his head as of lately, anyways. Just yesterday he roped Daniel LaRusso into a fuck-buddy scheme. Anything is possible.

The garden is empty by the time Johnny finds Daniel still standing on the grass, eyes set on nothing in particular. He looks kind of funny with his skinny legs in his ridiculous tight leggings and blue hoodie around all the mossy green.

“Are you alright?” Johnny ends up asking when he’s near him.“You seemed a little off today,” Daniel smiles, small and uncertain, eyes scanning everything and nothing at all. 

“Yeah. Just a lot of things going on,” he shifts his weight from foot to foot, while putting his hands inside his pockets. 

“At the dealership?”

“At home,” he grimaces. He even has the decency of looking bashful at the mention of it. A little, but still. It’s so weird to talk about your family life with your former-karate-rival-turned-business-partner-turned-fuck-buddy. Johnny has to choose a better name for LaRusso, this is getting difficult. And long.

_“Amanda has been difficult_ ,” Daniel had confessed one night over beers. “ _We don’t see eye to eye. We are both walking on eggshells, it seems.”_

_“Do you really think she’s the difficult one?”_ Johnny had asked _._ Daniel smiled.

_“She doesn’t like how much happier I have been since I’m running the dojo. I mean, I know we still have Kreese, and the tournament and getting Robby back… But I feel like I am finding my balance. I think she doesn’t like that a lot of it doesn’t include her. Working less time at the dealership has made us spend so little time together.”_

_“I’m sure you both will come around. You’ll get accustomed to it. It isn’t normal to spend all day with your partner anyway. Maybe this way you will be able to see each other with more enthusiasm at the end of the day.”_

Not long after that particular chat, Daniel had started cheating on her with Johnny. Go figure.

“Amanda not happy?” He feels a little cynical asking this, but tries to be nonchalant anyway. 

“I forgot I had promised to help her with the new marketing team on Monday. I didn’t show up to the meeting,” Johnny frowned, remembering he and Daniel had spent a good three hours working on a new set for the advanced kids that particular afternoon.

“That sucks man. Send her flowers?” Daniel snorted.

“Nobody died Johnny, why would I send her flowers? I promised to spend this Saturday there, to meet with one of the girls in the team to work on the final details. It was a good compromise.”

“I guess it is if overworking yourself is your idea of a good deal.” Daniel smiles, this time sincerely, and turns to him. 

“I did tell her we were gonna run late today, though, so no more dealership trouble. If you want to go over the final things for the next class.” 

They actually work for a good while. It’s been more than an hour and Johnny gets a little antsy, the hair of his neck rising every time Daniel so much as glances at him. Strike first is still a good motto, Johnny thinks as he leans to catch Daniel’s lips mid sentence. The lesson plan is promptly forgotten, just like Johnny had thought it was gonna be when LaRusso said ‘we had time’.

Daniel is now an expert on discarding Johnny’s belt and taking off his gi. He does it quick and easy with nimble fingers and strong hands, like he’s in a rush to get Johnny naked and ready. Johnny likes to take his time in undressing the other, the pleasure in stilling the urgent air in Daniel very soothing in his veins. What can Johnny say? He likes to be contrary, to antagonise LaRusso even in this.

Although it’s kind of funny, that Johnny Lawrence is the one that threads patiently. _He has a home to return to_ , his mind supplies. _He wants to be done quickly to return to his wife and play house_. It’s in those moments of realization that he falters a little, his chest tight and heavy.

But this time Daniel is undeterred, his hands grasping at Johnny’s nape and hair, his lips hungry and desperate. The urgency is not quite the same as always, it doesn’t feel much like rushing to get done, but like something else entirely and Johnny shivers at the intensity of it. 

When they are finally in their underwear, slick chests heaving together, brown eyes stare directly into blue pools.

“Do you— do you think… I have condoms, can we—”

Oh, so they had _time_ . Time _time_.

“Fuck, yeah, yeah we can.”

For all the times they have slept together, they haven’t actually delved into _anal_ (Daniel had chastised him for saying it a _certain way)_ more than once. Mainly because they never had the opportunity to get it all sorted out with the time they have. They were over fifty, and after their first attempt they had to accept some things just needed preparation.

Once settled in the little futon with clothes discarded, Daniel entrusts the task of prepping to Johnny, which was fine by him, he had done it a couple of times before. Some adventurous babes he had slept with had been into that, and he had been happy to comply. But now, as he moves his fingers carefully around, the amount of trust he can see in Daniel’s huge, doe-eyes makes it nerve-wracking. Just a little. He won’t say it out loud, of course. He is not a pussy. 

“I think I’m ready now.”

“Hmm, just one more minute,” Johnny answers, just to be a tease and keep him at his mercy a little longer. Daniel laughs and then groans when the three fingers inside open sideways, two, three times. When a moan escapes his lips Johnny smirks. “Now you _are_ ready.”

“You’re such a dick,” Daniel says and Johnny moves to accommodate himself between his legs, grabbing the back of his knees to get better access. Brown eyes study him for a second, and in a sudden movement, he is thrown against the futon. The impact is not hard, but he can feel the wooden flooring hard against his ribs for a moment as the thin material gives against their shared weight.

Daniel is over him, eyes clear but hooded, lips parted slightly and with burning cheeks.

“Let’s do it like this.”

And Johnny is a little disoriented between the way he is being stared at, the loss of air after he was shoved moments ago, and his dick being manhandled into Daniel’s tight heat. His heart is beating faster by the minute, and he just manages to get his hands on strong hips before Daniel pushes down and skin slaps skin. It’s good like this, both of them looking at each other as they moan and pant. His hands are gripping Daniel’s skin searingly, holding for dear life, while his own shoulders serve as leverage for the other man. 

Johnny’s brain is a little scrambled, and he groans as the pace gets more frantic. Daniel’s ass stutters with the exertion of keeping himself in the same position. His thighs must be burning. Johnny helps a little, snapping his hips up and down, but the way Daniel squeezes his shoulders tells him the only thing needed of him right now is to keep his dick in place.

Not long after, though, Daniel sits still for a moment, chest heaving, and just circles his hips while he regains some strength in his abused muscles. 

“We can change positions,” Johnny suggests, while he pushes his lower body a little up, going deeper. He thrusts twice to get his point across.

“No. Like this, like this is good,” he takes a last gasp of air while inclining his body until he can plant an open mouthed kiss on Johnny’s neck. Moments later, he resumes his movements, bouncing up and down the length of Johnny's dick, like it’s just his to take. And he takes and takes, and as Johnny moves his hand to grip Daniel’s own erection between both of their stomachs, he thinks he doesn’t mind it at all. 

Johnny comes first, his dick still inside Daniel’s ass and his hand falters for a while before resuming jerking him off. Just a minute later, he feels warm liquid on his abdomen, and a sweaty forehead rests on his shoulder. A low chuckle fills the room, as his dick falls limply when Daniel lets himself drop on the other side of the futon, an arm and leg still over Johnny’s body. 

The air is hot but not charged, and their breathing is evening out. The hazy lull of their sated bodies makes them silent and pliant, and Johnny doesn’t mind the way his hair is being played with or the way his own hand finds it so easy to move over Daniel’s side carefully.

It’s quiet and good. So good Johnny’s mind accidentally slips, and he starts thinking nonsense. It has gotten really late. Late enough that he wonders if they would share the bed, if Daniel would ask him to stay the night with him, in the thin mattress, in the little room, inside the little dojo-house (luckily in this room no one can see Miyagi’s photo, judging them both). Will they be comfortable enough for sleeping though? They fuck on here just fine, but Johnny likes to strech during the night and the thing is kind of small.

But Daniel moves, and Johnny knows he will stand to fetch something to clean the mess. The bedsheets rustle and they have to move their hands from each other so he can go. Johnny thinks that next time he could maybe be chivalrous enough to be the one to bring the cleaning supplies after the fucking. The steps over the wooden floor move to the little bathroom in the back, slow and light.

While he hears the water in the sink run, Johnny keeps wondering if the intense way Daniel had rode him tonight was the preamble to something else. _He said they had time_. Maybe if he waited a little (give him an hour, he is getting old) he could get it up for round two. Maybe they can stay in the mattress while they wait. Will google show something useful if he types whether or not fuckbuddies cuddle after sex?

A ringtone sounds to his right, the light of the phone illuminating the room in a blue hue. It’s different from the usual one he knows Daniel uses. When did he change it? Wait, how does he know how his stupid phone sounds? The thing keeps ringing _. Of course._ So much for not bothering him. He hears noise in the bathroom, and quick steps moving towards him.

“Shit.”

Indeed. 

“Hello,” a pause. Daniel carefully puts the damp towel in Johnny’s stomach before stepping away from the futon. “Uh, yeah, I’m still at the dojo.” Brown eyes scan the room, definitely avoiding him now. “I will be there in,” he raises his hand to look at his smart watch. “30 minutes, tops.”

Oh.

While Daniel has his back to him he stands up, not wanting to intrude in an Amanda call. He slips into his boxers quickly, making for the front of the little house where his bag is. He doesn’t bother with normal clothes, just puts on his gi again, opting for speed. He glances back, and the other man is pacing in front of all the paper walls. Time for an escape. 

He is a good 5 minutes away from Miyagi-do when his phone’s screen lights up and the sound for messages fills his car.

**_LaRusso🥋_ **

_You left without saying goodbye, dick._

Johnny scoffs.

He has had enough time to think of a reply when he arrives at his apartment. 

_Didn’t know if the marital quarrel was gonna be long. I needed a shower._

He doesn’t receive an answer. 

“Fuck,” he mutters in the middle of his kitchen while eyeing his fridge, wondering if getting hammered was a good idea.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! 
> 
> I have to thank all of you who have left a comment or kudos in this! It has meant the world to me, so I try to answer each one of them. Now I come here to post I do happily because of it, hehe.
> 
> As always, here's the link to the playlist for this https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Sf42YtHv4p4m6XmFFsrui?si=BC4SydtHSFekm0lu5CzczA if you like that sort of thing.

Johnny didn’t get drunk last night, too tired and busy-minded to actually try and make it worse with a headache the next morning. That didn’t mean he would get up early, though. He checks his phone as soon as he is able to open his eyes properly. The bright screen shines, a little mocking, and shows nothing but his lockscreen: a picture of him and Miguel in the concert they went together months ago. The time it shows is 12:31. So, a little over twelve hours of radio silence. Cool. He looks at the ceiling and let’s the phone fall to his side.

Johnny has perfected the art of overthinking over the years. He is impulsive and reckless, yes, but that doesn’t stop him from spending hours upon hours wondering the whys of everything he does. Why did he fight a guy in that bar? Why didn’t he say yes to the pretty babe who bought him a drink two weeks ago? Why the fuck is he still thinking about Daniel Fucking LaRusso when he just woke up? Why is he so hung up on a stupid text he sent and a stupid text he didn’t get back?

If Daniel doesn’t want to text him back it’s fine, it’s cool, he has to deal with that. He’s not a teenage boy with a crush like Miguel who spends his days moping around the dojo because of Daniel Fucking LaRusso’s daughter. 

His phone rings loudly in his room, vibrating over his bedsheets. For a moment, Johnny just looks at it menacingly, as if willing it to mock him one more time with one of those weather notifications that sometimes pop up. It’s fucking California, of course it’s gonna be a stupid hot day. He sighs, looks at the ceiling and wonders how the hell he got here. Was it some kind of a twisted lesson from fate? He had to pay for all the fuck ups in his life?  _ Karma _ , Aisha had screamed once when Hawk had fallen on his ass after trying to sweep her leg. Not the instant kind of Karma, but the one that piled up from years and years of misdeeds. He sighs, braces himself and takes his phone. 

**_LaRusso🥋_ **

_ Slow day at the dealership, my 5 pm appointment got cancelled. Wanna meet up for drinks? _

Oh, so it was all good. Johnny was about to answer when he thought of Miguel and texting etiquette.  _ Don’t answer immediately, you’re not desperate.  _ That was dumb. If you’re interested, you’re interested. What’s wrong with showing it? How else are you supposed to hook up with a babe otherwise? He groans, gets up and walks to the kitchen. Five minutes and he will answer. This will be better with something in his stomach, anyway. 

He’s opening the fridge when he hears the door of the Diaz’ apartment and looks up. Carmen is leaving for work, bag on her shoulder, dressed in pink scrubs. Her pretty hair is up in a ponytail, and although he can see she’s wearing no make-up, she looks as radiant as ever, honey skin glowy in the midday sun.

Johnny falters a little as she walks away. She had been a dream, something unreachable and almost impossible. He still remembers what he felt when she had been in his arms, the relief of being on the receiving end of her affection instead of cold indifference. It had been so good to be deemed worthy of forgiveness, to be given another opportunity. It was amazing and for a moment it seemed like everything he wanted (not Robby, not yet, that would come with time and a lot of work and he knew it) was finally his. But life is stupid and unfair and Johnny knows it was not meant to be.

She was very good about it, though. The breaking up with him part. She had come to his place with a big container of food and a kind smile. She had kissed his cheek and sat down to share the meal, something with rice and beans and meat. They had eaten in a charged silence, and Johnny felt it before it came, because of how she straightened her back and cleared her throat.

“ _ I really like you _ ,” she started, smiling. “ _ Miguel adores you. Even after everything that has happened, you’ve been a good teacher to him. I’m glad he met you. Glad we met you. _ ” There was a but coming, he knew it. His fork clattered a little too much as he rested it on his empty plate. “ _ I have had a good time lately _ ,” she looked bashful, showing how the years between them could stretch for miles. 

“ _ But, _ ” Johnny finally said. It didn’t come as harsh as he imagined. It didn’t sound hurt, either. Curious, maybe.

“ _ But I think we should take some time. I know Miguel would love it, if you became his step-dad. _ ” Oh, he would, Johnny knows how much of a father figure he is to him ( _ Robby knew, too) _ . “ _ I don’t know if we are ready. I don’t know if liking each other is enough, you know? We are both single parents, and… _ ” She clears her throat, her warm eyes clear when she looks at him. “ _ I’m not getting any younger. _ ” Neither was Johnny, but he wasn’t gonna say it. 

He understood at that moment. Carmen wanted something she could step in with sure footing. Something stable. Johnny was a whirlwind, an adventure, something intense, but not something  _ fixed. _

“ _ I think I get you _ ,” he smiled, a little sadly. He liked what they had, he liked it a lot. And he stopped to think how amazing it would have been to be with Carmen for good. They could move to a bigger place, Johnny could be a middle-aged Karate teacher who came home to a pretty wife and a well behaved (most of the time) step-son. But there was something unsaid. Something that lay deeper between the lines of what she was saying. Sure, Carmen wanted something solid, but he was sure she knew he could be in if she really wanted him to try. 

But there was a wild card. Something that was Johnny but not completely.

Robby. 

Robby, who had hurt Miguel so bad his family spent weeks at the hospital, not knowing if he would ever be a normal teenager again. Robby, who would not want to be part of Johnny’s life if he decided to settle with Carmen. How the fuck would that look like? In Johnny’s head both kids were his, in different ways. But that was just an idyllic thought, not shared by the other two. Robby and Miguel seeing eye to eye as step-siblings? There were many outcomes to that particular thought. Robby not accepting it and moving completely (more, if that was possible) out of his father’s life. Robby, being part of it all, but never bonding with Miguel, hurting Carmen in the process. Robby seeing how Miguel got Samantha, got Johnny, got a good mother, whilst he had to play-along with the scraps that he was given. 

Carmen had been thinking hard about it. Maybe as hard as Johnny. He was no optimist, but he could ignore most things in order to pretend everything was fine. At that moment he could no longer do it. He could not make promises for himself most of the time, much less in Robby’s name.

“ _ I get you _ ,” he repeated. He found Carmen’s hand over the table, took it and caressed the soft skin with his thumb. “ _ Thank you, still, for giving it a chance. _ ”

“ _ I wish it was easier. Who knows… maybe in time it could be? _ ” She tried to sound convinced. She failed, obviously. They weren’t getting any younger.

“ _ Maybe, _ ” he played along, being courteous and pretending. “ _ Will Miguel take it badly, you think? _ ”

“ _ He’s gonna hate me for some days, but then he will have you all for himself, so I don’t think he will suffer for too long. _ ”

“ _ Good. _ ”

And that had been that. 

On the one hand, Johnny is proud he didn’t fuck it all up on purpose. Of course it all came back to him and his inability to properly nurture his broken relationship with his son, but hey, that was partly the fault of past-Johnny and not much of current less-shitty-Johnny. Johnny 2.0.

So here he is again, sitting at his table with his half eaten eggs and an unanswered text. He doesn’t want to, but he thinks of Amanda: Beautiful, graceful and strong-willed. Her long legs, tiny waist and unwrinkled face. Graceful manners, talented and driven. Daniel still has that. Johnny lost Carmen, but Daniel still has Amanda. And he thinks it’s a little unfair. He feels like he is at one end of the dumb wooden wheel on the dojo’s pond, holding the weight of all his failures in his hands while Daniel is just standing calmly with the advantage of his two feet planted firmly on the surface. 

But also, he has less to lose, right? He may fall to the water but the momentum of it would send LaRusso down too, with a lot more force. He may drown because his kid hates him and his almost-girlfriend dumped him and he has nothing else. But Daniel would have everything in the air. He could very well end up with no wife, no kids, no dealership. Could even end up without dojo. Both of them could end up without dojo. Oh, so now Johnny could be responsible for that too. 

He couldn’t lose that, the only good thing he still had.

Great, just great. He is not hungry anymore.

**_LaRusso🥋_ **

_ Are you asleep? It’s almost one. _

_ Yeah, just woke up. Wanna come to my place? Not feeling a bar tonight.  _

And that was true. His skin felt raw and open. Too much thinking scraped the surface of every nerve-ending in Johnny’s body, and he needed to be somewhere he could feel at ease. His place was the closest to that. Maybe the dojo, but there was Miyagi’s portrait there, and he didn’t feel like bearing the weight of his watchful eyes while drinking with Daniel on a Wednesday night.

**_LaRusso🥋_ **

_ Okay. I will drop by around 6. Coors Banquet for you? _

_ Yeah. _

He looks around his apartment and sighs. He thinks that having something in his stomach is better than feeling the constant vacuum pulling inside of him, so he finishes the eggs and decides that he should tidy up a little. A change of bedsheets, just in case. Maybe he needs something in the fridge, too. He could just order a pizza, though. But a quick trip to the store would do no harm. He needs groceries, anyway.

So, he cleans, dusts a little and does change the bedsheets for something cleaner. He had done laundry with Miguel last Sunday. He had poured fabric softener in the washer while Johnny put everything inside. It smelt fresh, and he was glad for the kid, and how stuff as basic as this was easier because of him. 

After the store trip, he has his fridge half full, basic ingredients for pasta in the front, just in case any of them is inclined to cook later. He spends a good while getting everything ready, and the day flies by in a daze.

He orders pizza. Not brick oven pizza, like LaRusso spends his time praising, but thin crust. Compromise. It’s Johnny’s place after all. It arrives just 5 minutes before Daniel knocks at his door.

“Is that pizza?” He asks as soon as he steps in. He leaves the beer he brought on the table. One six-pack of Coors for Johnny, one weird brand he doesn’t recognize for Daniel himself. 

“Yeah, thin crust,” he says, trying hard to sound casual as he puts the beer in the fridge. He misses Daniel’s fond look by seconds.

“It’s okay if we eat on the sofa? We can watch a movie.” Johnny turns and sees Daniel take the box, already moving. He just follows him.

Daniel chooses something in Netflix (Miguel was the one to set everything up). Johnny is not paying much attention through most of it, but Daniel looks entranced. He takes the opportunity to look at his profile. His eyes look tired still, something that he can’t get accustomed to. Daniel LaRusso’s spark is somehow tamed, buried in dark eyebags under his eyes. He is looking on the thin side, too. 

“Something on my face?” LaRusso asks, raising an eyebrow. Ah, and there it is, the cheeky self assurance that makes him unbearable. Johnny scoffs, but chooses not to answer and turns to the TV. He almost jumps when he feels a hand land high on his thigh. “I don’t mind, you can keep staring.”

In a moment filled with liquid courage (Johnny has had 2 beers, don’t let him fool you), he laughs and turns and smashes his lips on Daniel’s. The angle is awkward and Johnny’s pulling a little on his shoulder and the next thing he knows is that he’s being hauled into the other’s lap by the nape of his neck. The first moments of the kiss taste bitter, like cheese grease and beer, but he doesn’t mind, especially when Daniel moans at a particularly hard nip. 

They spend a while making out on the couch like teenagers. Johnny’s legs are feeling the burn of the strain of his position, so relocating might be a good idea.

“I- Uh… we could go to the room if you want.” He doesn’t disclose the information of the newly bought condom box and lube he grabbed last minute, or the freshly washed sheets. He still has some dignity, thank you very much. Daniel smiles, hands deeply lost in his hair and neck. 

“I swear I just wanted to hang out.” says as an answer and sounds fake even to his own ears. Johnny smiles, knowing, and pulls him into his room.

After attempting to go for seconds (Johnny thinks it was very brave of them, thank you) Daniel falls asleep. He is on his side, one arm across Johnny’s chest like he owns it. His face is finally relaxed, his body lax, and he is snoring. Johnny finds it doesn’t annoy him but rather endears him.

Fuck.

His heart is beating fast, and Johnny thinks of all the times Miguel has told him that at his age, he has to be careful of a stroke, has to drink less beer and eat more veggies. He will have to listen to him, because the way his ribcage feels like it might explode is not fun at all. Daniel moves, and his head is closer to his chin. He can see some grey hairs here and there and almost laughs at them both. Nothing like having a gay fling when they are closer to sixty than their sweet sixteen years when they met each other. 

“Johnny?” Daniel whispers, voice raspy with sleep. “Can I stay the night?” And Johnny’s chest might as well burst, and he hopes LaRusso can’t hear the frantic sound against the mattress. Is this okay? Isn’t this crossing a line? Can fuckbuddies do this? He thinks for a minute of Amanda, of Daniel’s phone ringing when it’s close to midnight and he hasn’t arrived at the big Encino house. He thinks of sweet Samantha, worrying about it and texting Miguel, and Miguel waking up and seeing Daniel’s car outside and… “Johnny?” He asks again, this time looking at him. He looks unsure, afraid. 

And what else can he do when confronted with Daniel LaRusso’s brown doe eyes? He cranes his neck and kisses his lips, short and sweet. 

“Of course.”

He will worry about it tomorrow.


End file.
